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Vista upgrade activation from XP-pro

microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation setup

I am upgrading from XP Professional to Vista ultimate. I understand that
unlike XP, I can't just install on a blank, formatted HDD and use the XP Pro
Disk as proof. Instead I have to upgrade on a system running XP and
activated.

However, what happens to the XP key after I upgrade. The reason for the
question, is if in the future my HDD crashes and I need to start over. Will
I be able to reload XP AND re-activate it and then load Vista and re-activate
it? Or, will the XP key be invalid?

"RS1976mm" <RS1976mm@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
>I am upgrading from XP Professional to Vista ultimate. I understand that
> unlike XP, I can't just install on a blank, formatted HDD and use the XP
> Pro
> Disk as proof. Instead I have to upgrade on a system running XP and
> activated.
>
> However, what happens to the XP key after I upgrade. The reason for the
> question, is if in the future my HDD crashes and I need to start over.
> Will
> I be able to reload XP AND re-activate it and then load Vista and
> re-activate
> it? Or, will the XP key be invalid?

Yes you can. You can't have both installed at the same time. The XP
license is subsumed into the Vista license in an upgrade scenario. If Vista
is removed then XP can be installed.

what do you mean "if vista is removed", if my hdd crashes and I start a clean
install of XP and vista is not on the pc, will activiation just let me
re-activate XP "knowing" that vista is no lobnger on the pc?

thanks,

"Rock" wrote:
> "RS1976mm" <RS1976mm@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
>
> >I am upgrading from XP Professional to Vista ultimate. I understand that
> > unlike XP, I can't just install on a blank, formatted HDD and use the XP
> > Pro
> > Disk as proof. Instead I have to upgrade on a system running XP and
> > activated.
> >
> > However, what happens to the XP key after I upgrade. The reason for the
> > question, is if in the future my HDD crashes and I need to start over.
> > Will
> > I be able to reload XP AND re-activate it and then load Vista and
> > re-activate
> > it? Or, will the XP key be invalid?
>
> Yes you can. You can't have both installed at the same time. The XP
> license is subsumed into the Vista license in an upgrade scenario. If Vista
> is removed then XP can be installed.
>
> --
> Rock [MVP - User/Shell]
>
>

"RS1976mm" <RS1976mm@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
newsB5F108D-F83A-4E7B-9F7F-9682482CFA81@microsoft.com...
> what do you mean "if vista is removed", if my hdd crashes and I start a
> clean
> install of XP and vista is not on the pc, will activiation just let me
> re-activate XP "knowing" that vista is no lobnger on the pc?
>
> thanks,
>
> "Rock" wrote:
>
>> "RS1976mm" <RS1976mm@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
>>
>> >I am upgrading from XP Professional to Vista ultimate. I understand that
>> > unlike XP, I can't just install on a blank, formatted HDD and use the
>> > XP
>> > Pro
>> > Disk as proof. Instead I have to upgrade on a system running XP and
>> > activated.
>> >
>> > However, what happens to the XP key after I upgrade. The reason for
>> > the
>> > question, is if in the future my HDD crashes and I need to start over.
>> > Will
>> > I be able to reload XP AND re-activate it and then load Vista and
>> > re-activate
>> > it? Or, will the XP key be invalid?
>>
>> Yes you can. You can't have both installed at the same time. The XP
>> license is subsumed into the Vista license in an upgrade scenario. If
>> Vista
>> is removed then XP can be installed.
>>
>> --
>> Rock [MVP - User/Shell]
>>
>>

"RS1976mm" <RS1976mm@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
newsB5F108D-F83A-4E7B-9F7F-9682482CFA81@microsoft.com...
> what do you mean "if vista is removed", if my hdd crashes and I start a
> clean
> install of XP and vista is not on the pc, will activiation just let me
> re-activate XP "knowing" that vista is no lobnger on the pc?
>
> thanks,
>
> "Rock" wrote:
>
>> "RS1976mm" <RS1976mm@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
>>
>> >I am upgrading from XP Professional to Vista ultimate. I understand that
>> > unlike XP, I can't just install on a blank, formatted HDD and use the
>> > XP
>> > Pro
>> > Disk as proof. Instead I have to upgrade on a system running XP and
>> > activated.
>> >
>> > However, what happens to the XP key after I upgrade. The reason for
>> > the
>> > question, is if in the future my HDD crashes and I need to start over.
>> > Will
>> > I be able to reload XP AND re-activate it and then load Vista and
>> > re-activate
>> > it? Or, will the XP key be invalid?
>>
>> Yes you can. You can't have both installed at the same time. The XP
>> license is subsumed into the Vista license in an upgrade scenario. If
>> Vista
>> is removed then XP can be installed.

We don't know the ins and outs of how MS is actually going to deal with the
XP license through their activation servers. By the OS license agreement,
the EULA, the XP license is subsumed into the Vista license while Vista is
installed. When Vista is no longer installed, the XP license can stand on
it's own so it can be reinstalled on that computer or moved to another if
it's a retail license. When XP has to be activated after the reinstall, it
will either go through on the internet or you'll have to call for
activation.